In continuation of the sequence of leaks connected with Samsung’s upcoming lineup of high-end smartphones, another seeming drawback detail has been leaked. Virtually all the important details have been revealed well ahead of the official unveiling of the Galaxy S21 models on January 14, 2021.
As is expected, the smartphone should come with several improvements on all fronts, from previous models. However, a recent leak may indicate that Samsung may have regressed in some respect, with the absence of storage expansion capability that comes with the inclusion of a MicroSD slot.
All three Galaxy S21 models could lack this microSD expansion capability, although some pundits may be of the opinion that the absence of a microSD slot may be overcome by having larger internal storage in the devices.
Previous leaks had already hinted that the Galaxy S21 series may come without a microSD slot, and today, industry authority Roland Quandt, is seemingly confirming the story when he said that a memory card reader is not included on the Galaxy S21 specifications sheet. It is speculated that Samsung decided to do away with expandable storage for the Galaxy S21 lineup as a market strategy to enhance the uniqueness of its flagship models, and stand them out among the competition.
S21 spec sheets say: memory card reader: "No"
Some markets might still get a charger in the box though, while others don't.
Samsung has taken such actions previously. All of its 2015 premium models were without a MicroSD slot, with some models in 2019 and 2020 also lacking a microSD slot. It would seem that these moves do not significantly affect the company’s bottom line as sales continued on an upward trajectory except last year, obviously due to the coronavirus pandemic. Customers shouldn’t expect a charger in the box, this time around.
It is worth reminding us, however, that these remain speculations, as Samsung is yet to debunk or confirm the stories. However, there could also be some substance in at least some of the stories on the eve of the release of the S21 lineup. We keep our fingers crossed and await the official launch in a fortnight with bated breath.
Electric car maker, Tesla Inc says it has begun sales of its China-made Model Y sport-utility vehicles (SUV) and the first customers are expected to take delivery of their automobiles this month, as the company makes inroads into the Chinese market, which is the world’s biggest car market.
Although the demand for electric vehicles, as well as the needed infrastructure needed for it, is still very low in parts of Asia compared to Europe, the Chinese market provides abounding opportunities and potentials for electric vehicle makers to tap in, as countries key into initiatives to cut greenhouse gases emissions and reduce their carbon footprint.
The electric car runs on substantially cleaner energy than its gasoline and diesel counterparts, thus producing a significantly reduced carbon footprint, in comparison with conventional cars.
China offers several incentives including hefty subsidies for electric vehicle manufacturing and deployment as it pursues a policy of cutting down on pollution from petrol or diesel cars, which aligns with Tesla’s global strategy. The electric vehicle maker is expanding its Shanghai factory where the Model 3 sedans are produced. The Model 3 vehicles have been exported to the European market since October 2020.
The company is also adding manufacturing capacity for electric vehicle chargers in Shanghai and expanding its sales and service network in China. It sold over 20,000 vehicles in November 2020 alone.
The Model Y sells in China for around 339,900 yuan (about $52,000). Tesla’s China sales figures are indicative of a growing demand for these electric vehicles which also provide substantial savings in energy costs in the long run.
Some other electric vehicle makers already berthed in China include Volkswagen and BMW, while several local manufacturers such as Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto are also seeking a bite from the lucrative Chinese market.
In the past, Xiaomi has launched Mouse Pads with features like Wireless charging support. Today, it has listed a new Double Material Mouse Pad on Xiaomi Mall in China. For the price, it offers improved ergonomics, double the coverage area than conventional Mouse Pads.
As ITHome reports, the Extra Large Double Material Mouse Pad has a thickness of just 2mm. And this is despite it sporting two types of Materials- PU and Cork. For the unaware, PU is Polyurethane and Cork is an impermeable buoyant material.
Traditionally, Cork is extracted from the bark of an Oak tree(Quercus suber) and that seems to be the case here. Xiaomi says that the Cork material is from European natural oak bark. It adds that this material underneath the pad is non-slippery and will definitely last longer.
However, the PU material at the top is typically an Artificial leather and a composite material. Despite the leather texture, it is soft and easy on the wrist laying on it. As per the company, it adapts to temperature and humidity conditions and is Abrasion, Dirt, Water, stain, and moisture resistant.
Xiaomi says that you can wipe the water spilled with a damp cloth and turn it good as new again. Apart from this, Xiaomi has improved the looks and durability by refining the materials and stitching them seamlessly like the seats of a Car. As for the large size, the Mouse Pad measures 800x400x2mm.
This means you get an 80cm long Track Pad which should essentially act as High-quality Desktop Mat as well. It comes in two colors- Black, and Gray. The Mouse Pad is rollable, flexible, and also comes with a carrying pouch to aid portability.
To put it in perspective, Xiaomi has listed a few use-case scenarios on the official website. Accordingly, you can use it as a base for books while Studying, encompass a lot more than keyboard, mouse in Home and Office, and more. The Mouse Pad is currently up for pre-orders on Xiaomi Mall for 49 yuan($8).
Recently, Xiaomi unveiled the kernel source code of its newly launched flagship smartphone, the Mi 11. Thanks to a report now we have some findings about a possibly new smartphone and an unannounced SoC of Qualcomm.
1 of 2
Redmi K40 Pro display design leak
Alleged Redmi K40
The Mi 11source code(via) reportedly has new filenames of what could be an upcoming processor from Qualcomm. Accordingly, a screenshot shows two sets of filenames – one with ‘Venus’ and another of ‘Xiaomi’. The ‘Venus’ is the codename for Mi 11 as it is listed with “SM8350” part number which is of Snapdragon 888.
However, a new “SM7350” also appears along with “Xiaomi“. If we recall, Snapdragon 750G, 765G, 768G have part numbers SM-7225, SM-7250-AB, SM7250-AC respectively. And older SoCs like Snapdragon 730, 730G belong to the “SM7150” series. Thus, the SM7350 could be an upcoming SoC.
We also have a few reasons to believe this. Back in July, a tipster said that Redmi’s K40 and K40 Pro are coming with SM7350 and SM8350 SoCs respectively. Out of this, Redmi has already confirmed that the Snapdragon 888 processor will debut on a Redmi device in Q1 2021 and it could be the K40 Pro.
Later, a popular tipster Roland Quandt, in September said that SM7350 could be Snapdragon 775 and is codenamed “Cedros”. According to him, Qualcomm was working to close boundaries with flagship processors with this SoC.
Also, what could be Qualcomm's SD775 is SM7350 and seems to be codenamed "Cedros".
The unannounced 7-series SoC also was reportedly tested with 12GB DDR5 RAM, 256GB UFS 3.1 storage, 120Hz screen putting the SoC in close quarters with 8-series SM8350. That said, Qualcomm is yet to officially reveal the processor.
And if reports are to be believed, the SoC is coming soon in Q1 2021 which also falls in-line with the Redmi’s launch timeline. Either way, it looks like Redmi K40 will sport a Snapdragon 7x processor(likely Snapdragon 775) but let’s wait for more details in the coming days.
Just as scheduled, Xiaomi Mi 11 officially went on sale for the first time in China at 0:00 on January 1. As the first Snapdragon 888-powered flagship product, the Mi 11 was already the center of attraction in the tech circle. The device also came with an extremely decent price tag, starting at 3999 yuan (~$612) which further beamed the searchlight on the model. As we were already expecting, the first sale turned out to be a reflection of the device’s popularity. Xiaomi’s mobile phone division officially released the first sales report for the Mi 11 at 00:13, just 13 minutes after the first sales commenced. According to the details, its omnichannel sales exceeded 1.5 billion yuan in just 5 minutes. If calculated using the average price of 4,300 yuan, Xiaomi my have sold over 350,000 units of the device.
Already, the device is listed as out of stock on Xiaomi’s official mall despite the company claiming that it is prepared well-enough to maintain stocks of the Mi 11.
As a reminder, the Mi 11 packs a 6.81-inch curved display with a hole in the top left corner of the screen and Corning Gorilla Victus protection. The screen is not only bigger than that of the Mi 10 5G but also sharper as it has a 2K (3200 x 1440) resolution. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate and a 480Hz touch sampling rate.
The phone crams a 4600mAh battery under the hood with support for 55W fast wired charging, 50W fast wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. It also supports Quick Charge 4+, Quick Charge 3+, and Power Delivery 3.0.
The 5nm Snapdragon 888 chipset powers the device and is paired with 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 high-speed storage. There is also an in-display fingerprint scanner, which Xiaomi says can also measure your heart rate in addition to unlocking your phone and authorizing payments. There are stereo speakers tuned by Harman Kardon, dual nano-SIM support, NFC, IR blaster, enhanced WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2 with Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus. It runs MIUI 12 based on Android 11 out of the box.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 has three rear cameras. The main camera is a 108MP 1/1.33″ sensor with an f/1.85 aperture, a 7P lens, and a 1.6μm pixel size. There is a 13MP super wide-angle lens with a 123° field of view and the third camera is a 5MP 50mm telephoto macro camera. The front-facing camera is a 20MP sensor.
OPPO announced ColorOS 11 based on Android 11 in mid-September. Since then, the company has been rolling out this update to its smartphones worldwide. So far, only a handful of phones have received them. That said, last evening, ahead of the new year, the firm revealed the ColorOS 11 update rollout plan Q1 2021 for China.
For those unaware, OPPO has already shared the ColorOS 11 update timeline for different markets. The company has been seeding builds following that schedule. But for some reason, the firm has reshared the rollout plan for Q1 2021, especially for China.
According to the ColorOS Assistant Weibo account, the following OPPO smartphones will be receiving ColorOS 11 update in the first quarter of 2021 in China.
January 27, 2021 – Open Beta (limited)
OPPO Reno3 5G
OPPO A92s
OPPO A52
March 2021 – Open Beta (limited)
OPPO Reno2
OPPO Reno2 Z
OPPO K5
OPPO A72 5G
OPPO A91
March 2021 – Stable Release
OPPO Reno 10x Zoom
OPPO Reno Ace
OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G
OPPO Reno4 SE 5G
OPPO Reno3 Vitality Edition
OPPO K7
As you can see from the above list, most of these handsets are China-exclusive. But it is worth noting that some of them are sold with different branding in other markets.
Anyway, this update schedule is similar to that of global. Therefore, we can expect the above-mentioned phones to receive the ColorOS 11 update at around the same time in global markets as well.
Samsung is preparing to launch the next Galaxy S series of Smartphones in January. Alongside the flagship, the company is also expected to launch a new Tracker. Today, 91Mobiles has spotted its real-life images courtesy of NCC Certification.
As per the report, a Samsung device appears on the NCC certification website. Its model number is “EI-T5300” and the moniker is “Galaxy SmartTag”. This corroborates with a EUIPO trademark filing which showed it as an Object tracker. And the name rhymes well like the rumored Apple AirTags.
Besides, a device with a similar model number has also passed Indonesia Telecom Certification. Hence, it is safe to say that it is indeed the upcoming Tile tracker-like Bluetooth tracking device from Samsung. Accordingly, the applicant is also listed as Taiwan Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., (Translated).
We have two sets of images. Although both have a circular ring at the center of the front, only one of them has a “Galaxy SmartTag” name. At the back, we have a Samsung branding. These images of the Black variant also remind us of a recent design reveal in Black and White color options.
Just like the early report, the images from this NCC listing also show a hole at one corner. As we said earlier, it could be for attaching a lanyard or any other strap as a grip. The circular ring on these supposed prototypes is like the early GIF image leak which depicted an animation of its Bluetooth functionality.
To quickly remind you, a Tracker is a device that relies on the Bluetooth Low-Energy technology. It has a battery in itself with which it is able to locate objects like Keys, wallets, remote, earbuds, Smartphones etc. The upcoming Samsung Tracker is also expected to have features like Bluetooth 5.1, UWB(Ultra Wide Band), interfacing with NFC, and RFID.
That said, Samsung is yet to officially reveal the other details of this SmartTag. It is expected to tag along the Galaxy S21 launch on January 14 and if true, we will know the pricing and availability in a couple of weeks.
If you are a fan of PS5 in India, this has got to be the best New Year’s gift from Sony. The company has finally announced a launch date of PlayStation 5 for the country.
Sony‘s PlayStation India, via a Twitter post, made the breaking announcement. Accordingly, the next-gen Gaming Console will launch officially on February 2, 2021, in India. Before that, you can start pre-ordering it from January 12 at 12 PM IST(UTC+ 05:00). Below is the list of online and retail partners where you can pre-order the PS5:
Amazon
Flipkart
Croma
Reliance Digital
Games The Shop
Shop at Sony Center
Vijay Sales
Select Authorized Retail Partner
That said, Sony has put a neat little disclaimer that pre-orders will last till the “stocks last”. Now, we really want to be positive and don’t want to jinx it but don’t expect a lot as the demand is strikingly high in the country. Not willing to wait for an official launch, People had already started buying imported units at crazy prices as high as ₹90,000($1,231).
Speaking of which, the company has already announced the pricing of the gaming console and other accessories for India back in October. In case you don’t know, you can take a look at the details as follows:
PlayStation 5(4K- BlueRay Disc Drive Edition)- ₹49,990($684)
PlayStation 5(Digital Edition)- ₹39,990($547)
Accessories:
DualSense Wireless Controller – ₹5,990
DualSense Wireless Charging Station- ₹2,590
Media Remote- ₹2,590
PULSE 3D Wireless Headset- ₹8,590
HD Camera- ₹5,190
In addition to this, Sony also said that titles like Demon’s Souls, Destruction Allstars, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition would be available for ₹4,999. However, Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Marvel’s Spider-man: Miles Morales standard edition is priced at ₹3,999.
The Sony PlayStation 5 is coming after a three-month delay in India. Right from the first official launch on November 12(US, Japan), it has been under great demand. The company tried its best to improve the stock during November 19 launch in Europe.
Nevertheless, the India launch finally is here and it is definitely going to add up to the tally of 3.4 million unit sales Sony had already achieved elsewhere last year.
Chinese smartphone maker realme is expected to launch two new smartphones in the near future with model numbers RMX3092 and RMX3093 respectively. Both of these handsets have been certified by 3C, whereas the former has even cleared the BIS certification. The first device was spotted on Geekbech a few days back and now, the second one also visits the popular benchmarking platform.
According to the Geekbench listing, the upcoming realme RMX3093 will be powered by MediaTek Dimensity 720 chipset paired with 8GB RAM. But unfortunately, despite set to launch in 2021, it will be running Android 10 out of the box.
Above all, it is interesting to see that it will be featuring the exact same specs as the realme RMX3092, including 65W fast charging, as per the 3C certification bureau. This suggests that both these phones could be of the same series.
Hence, the camera setup and size could be the only major difference between them. Further, going by the launch cycle, this duo could be realme 8 and realme 8 Pro respectively. But there’s a chance that they could be part of a new series as realme has confirmed to release more 5G smartphones in the future.
Whatever it may be, we expect to learn more about these handsets in the coming days before their official announcement.
Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy S21 series on January 14. Although the company is yet to officially reveal the date, the launch teaser video has been already listed on one of its official YouTube channels. Also, the press renders as well as specifications of these handsets are out as well. Now, a tipster suggests battery life improvements on the vanilla Galaxy S21.
In case you do not know, Samsung’s flagship smartphone series – Galaxy S and Galaxy Note feature two different chipsets. Countries like the US and China usually get the Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered devices, whereas the rest of the world gets the in-house Exynos-powered handsets. The latter variants are known for thermal issues, throttling, and above all, poor battery life, compared to the former.
That said, this year’s Galaxy S21 series is said to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and the unannounced Exynos 2100 SoC. The Qualcomm chip is already official and there’s even a commercial smartphone (Mi 11) featuring it. But not much more is known about the Exynos 2100, which is expected to debut on January 12.
Ahead of it, a Twitter user called Anthony (@TheGalox_) says that the Exynos 2100 present in the regular Galaxy S21 will deliver about 25-35% better battery life than the Exynos 990-powered Galaxy S20. Similarly, according to him, the Snapdragon 888-powered Galaxy S21 will offer 15% battery life than the Snapdragon 865-powered Snapdragon Galaxy S20.
In other words, both the variants of Galaxy S21 will have a better battery life than their predecessors despite sporting the same 4,000mAh battery, as per the specs leak.
Anyway, this is merely a tip from a random Twitter user who is, however, mostly accurate with his leaks. But still, we would like you to consider this piece of information with a pinch of salt.
Redmi 7 was one of the best-selling smartphones of its time. The handset debuted with MIUI 10 based on Android Pie in early 2019. It was later updated to MIUI 11 worldwide. Last week, the global variant of this device started receiving the long-awaited Android 10 update. Now, this update is live in India as well.
The Android 10 update for Redmi 7 in India comes with build number V11.0.3.0.QFLINXM. Apart from bringing last year’s Android, the new software build also bumps up the security patch level to December 2020.
Currently, the update is in the ‘Stable Beta’ phase. Hence, it is only available to select users. We expect the company to extend the availability of the update to more users if there’s no major issue with the build.
It is worth noting that Xiaomi is yet to begin this update rollout for other variants apart from India, Global, and China. We believe the firm will soon seed the build for those variants in the coming days.
A mysterious Vivo phone with model number V2048A was spotted at the Geekbench benchmarking website earlier this week via theNashville Chatter Class. The listing revealed that it will be a mid-tier offering from the brand.
The Vivo V2048A Geekbench listing shows that it is powered by a MediaTek processor that has a model number of MT6875. It is the Dimensity 820 chipset that has been previously seen only on the Xiaomi Redmi 10X smartphone.
The listing states that the Dimensity 820 chipset is coupled with 8 GB of RAM. The device is preinstalled with Android 11 OS. It has scored 652 in the single-core test of Geekbench and it recorded a score of 2525 in its multi-core test. Unfortunately, there is no word on the final product name and other specs of the device.
In related news, another Vivo phone with a V2037 model number was spotted at Geekbench recently. The listing revealed that it will be the first Helio G80 powered smartphone from Vivo. The listing revealed that it runs on Android 11 OS and it has 8 GB of RAM. On Geekbench 4, the Vivo V2037 scored 1823 and 5466 in the single-core and multi-core tests of Geekbench, respectively.
Again, there is no information available on its other specifications and moniker. Hopefully, newer reports will soon reveal more information on the Vivo V2037 and V2048A phones in the coming weeks.
On Dec. 14,HMD Global announced the Nokia C1 Plus smartphone in Europe. It China, the handset has been available for pre-orders since Dec. 25. As scheduled, the smartphone is now up for purchase in China. The Nokia C1 Plus is an updated version of the Nokia C1 that debuted in December 2019.
Nokia C1 Plus specifications and pricing
The Nokia C1 Plus features a 5.45-inch LCD panel that offers an HD+ resolution and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The back panel of the phone is made out of plastic.
The smartphone is preinstalled with Android 10 (Go edition). It draws power from a 2,500mAh battery that supports 5W charging. It is fueled by an unknown quad-core processor that works at 1.4GHz.
The SoC is coupled with 1 GB of RAM. It has a native storage of 16 GB and carries support for external storage. Unlike the older Nokia C1 handset, the Plus edition lacks a dedicated button for accessing the Google Assistant.
On the front, the Nokia C1 Plus has an LED flash assisted 5-megapixel camera with face recognition support. The backside of the phone features a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and HDR support.
In related news, the Finnish has already started with the sales of other entry-level Nokia 4G features in China. Recently, it began with the sales of Nokia 6300 4G for 429 Yuan (~$65) and Nokia 8000 4G or 699 Yuan (~$107).
iQOO is all set to launch the iQOO 7 flagship on Jan. 11 in China. Recent reports have revealed that its model number is V2049A. Earlier this week, it surfaced at AnTuTu benchmarks with an amazing score of 752,935. The 12 GB RAM variant of the iQOO 7 was benchmarked on AnTuTu. The same variant has now been surfaced on the Geekbench benchmarking platform.
The Geekbench listing shows that the Snapdragon 888 SoC powered iQOO 7 has scored 1125 and 3637 in the single-core and multi-core tests of Geekbench 5, respectively. The scores are in line with other Geekbench listings of other SD888 phones like the Galaxy S21, Xiaomi Mi 11, alleged ASUS ROG Phone 4, and Vivo X60 Pro+.
Rumors surrounding the iQOO 7 have revealed that it will be sporting a 6.56-inch AMOLED screen with a punch-hole positioned at its top-center. The display will come with features like an FHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and an in-screen fingerprint reader.
The Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform is coupled with enhanced LPPDR5 and UFS 3.1 storage on the device. It will come preinstalled with Android 11 OS and support for 120W fast charging. However, the exact size of its battery is not known yet. The rear shell of the phone has a triple camera system. It is expected to arrive with an OIS enabled 48-megapixel primary camera. Lastly, the company will be also selling a special BMW edition of the smartphone.
After remaining inactive in 2019, POCO returned as an independent brand last year. The company unveiled a wide range of phones such as the POCO X2, POCO F2 Pro, POCO M2 Pro, POCO M2, POCO X3, POCO C3, and POCO M3 in 2020. While POCO fans eagerly waited for the POCO F2, the company did not reveal anything on its arrival. It now appears that the launch date of the POCO F2 may not be far away as the company has officially teased its arrival in a new tweet.
The stage is set! The fun has begun! Let us get ready to take it to the next level!
Excited? You should be, coz the next year is going to be even crazier.
While we enjoy, let us look back at everything we've achieved together! Thank you ❤️ pic.twitter.com/K0432jSj8B
Through a new tweet, the company looked back at what it achieved in 2020. It sold over 1,000,000 POCO phones last year and ranked no. 4 in the list of online smartphone brands in India. The company aims for bigger achievements in 2021. It can be said based on recent reports that apart from phones, the company will launch other products like TWS and laptops in 2021.
At the end of the tweet, it teased the POCO F2 while thanking its fans. Here is the screenshot that teases the arrival of the POCO F2.
There is a possibility that the POCO F2 could be one of the first POCO phones to debut in 2021. Folks at Xiaomi Telegram (unofficial) group (via) have shared the key specs of the POCO F2. It is advisable to digest the specs leak with a pinch of salt as there is no confirmation of its authenticity. While the POCO F1 was an ultra-cheap flagship phone powered by the Snapdragon 845 chipset, the new leak states that the POCO F2 is a mid-range phone.
POCO F2 specifications (Unconfirmed)
According to the leak, the POCO F2’s model number is K9A and it is codenamed as Courbet. It will be equipped with an AMOLED screen that delivers a refresh rate of 120Hz. The leak screen size is not mentioned in the leak. A 4,250mAh battery will back the device, and it will come with support for reverse charging. Its global variant will support NFC connectivity.
The rear-facing quad-camera setup is expected to come with usual lenses such as wide, ultrawide, macro, and depth. Their configurations are not known yet. Lastly, the phone will draw power from the Snapdragon 732G, which is the same chipset that fuels the POCO X3.
The OPPO Reno5 series that debuted in China include three models such as Reno5 5G, Reno5 Pro 5G, and Reno5 Pro+ 5G. The model numbers of these models are PEGM00/PEGT00, PDSM00/PDST00, and PDRM0/PDRT00, The Chinese brand will be launching three Reno5 models such as the Reno5 4G, Reno5 5G, Reno5 Pro 5G. It is already known that the model number of the recently announced Reno5 4G is CPH2159. Today, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) authority of Thailand approved two new OPPO phones with model numbers CPH2145 and CPH2201. The listing confirms that these models will hit the market as the Reno5 5G and Reno5 Pro 5G.
The NBTC certification listings of Reno5 5G and Reno5 Pro 5G have not revealed any information on their specs. Apart from NBTC, the Reno5 5G has been spotted at other certification platforms like Global Certification Forum (GCF), Indonesian SDPPI, Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC), and Bluetooth SIG. On the other side, the Reno5 Pro 5G has been approved by agencies like NCC, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and India’s Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The Pro model is yet to receive GCF certification.
In China, the Reno5 5G arrived with the Snapdragon 765G SoC, whereas the Reno5 Pro 5G came with Dimensity 1000+ chipset. Recent reports have revealed that the global editions of these phones will be equipped with the Snapdragon 765G. It is likely that the rest of the specs of the global Reno5 5G and Reno5 Pro 5G will remain identical to their Chinese variants.
The Reno5 5G arrive in China with specs like 6.43-inch AMOLED FHD+ with 90Hz refresh rate support, SD765G, up to 12 GB of RAM, up to 128 GB of storage, 32-megapixel front camera, 64-megapixel + 8-mgeapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel quad camera, and a 4,300mAh battery with 65W fast charge support. On the other side, the Reno5 Pro 5G came in China with a 6.55-inch AMOLED FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate, D1000+ SoC, and 4,350mAh battery. It has the same front camera, rear cameras, and rapid charging tech that are found on the vanilla model. As far as the Reno5 Pro+ 5G is concerned, it is unlikely to arrive in global markets.
Xiaomi Malaysia has started teasing the launch of a new Redmi phone. It is heavily speculated that it could be hinting at the arrival of the Redmi 9T smartphone. A Vietnamese tipster Chun has claimed that the Redmi 9T may debut on Jan. 8 in the country. He has claimed that the Chinese firm will launch as many as nine smartphones in the first quarter of 2021.
Currently, Xiaomi is running a contest for the alleged Redmi 9T in Malaysia. The contest is will come to an end on Jan. 7. The tipster has revealed that he has learned through a popular review that the Redmi 9T will be break cover on Jan. 8. He added that the company will release at least 9 phones in the global markets in early 2021.
Xiaomi Redmi 9 Power
Some of the Xiaomi phones that are expected to launch in the global markets include Redmi 9T, Xiaomi Mi 11, and Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G. Some speculations that are doing rounds on Twitter claim that the Mi 11 Lite 4G could be branded as the POCO F2 in India. Since there is no concrete proof to back this claim, it is advisable to take this information with a pinch of salt.
The Redmi 9T is believed to be a rebranded version of the Redmi 9 Power that debuted in India recently. The Redmi 9 Power has a 6.53-inch IPS S LCD panel that offers a Full HD+ resolution and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It is preinstalled with MIUI 12 based Android 10 OS. The Snapdragon 662 chipset is present under the hood of the device with up to 6 GB of RAM. The phone is available in 64 GB (UFS 2.1) and 128 GB (UFS 2.2) storage options.
It is backed by a 6,000Ah battery that supports 18W fast charging. For snapping selfies, it possesses an 8-megapixel front camera and its rear features a 48-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel + 2-megapixel quad-camera system.
Xiaomi just launched the new Xiaomi Mi 11: the first-ever flagship equipped with the new Snapdragon 888. But despite having the best chipset in the Android world, the Mi 11 is still a flagship killer sold at a very interesting price tag. Besides the Mi 11, two more flagships went official in the last days of 2020: the OPPO Reno5 Pro+ and the Vivo X60 Pro. In this comparison, we decided to compare the specifications of the best Android flagships released from Chinese brands in the last part of 2020 in order to let you understand which one is the most interesting handset you can actually buy without spending a huge amount of money.
4600 mAh, fast charging 50W, wireless charging 50W
4500 mAh, fast charging 65W
4200 mAh, fast charging 33W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Dual SIM slot, 5G, reverse wireless charging 10W
Dual SIM slot, 5G, reverse charging
Dual SIM slot, 5G
Design
The Xiaomi Mi 11 has a very original and beautiful design. With its camera module boasting rounded corners and a very high screen-to-body ratio, it is definitely an attractive phone which tries to differentiate itself from the concurrence. But the OPPO Reno5 Pro+ is my favorite one for a simple reason: its electrochromic body. Its rear side is able to change its color with a simple double tap on it, and this is an amazing feature in terms of design. The Vivo X60 Pro still comes with a beautiful design and premium materials, but I personally prefer the OPPO Reno5 Pro+ and I think a lot of people will agree with me.
Display
The Xiaomi Mi 11 is equipped with the most advanced display: for the first time, Xiaomi opted for a display with a Quad HD+ resolution. The display of the Xiaomi Mi 11 has a 120 Hz refresh rate and the HDR10+ certification, as well as a very high brightness up to 1500 nits. The display received an A+ from DisplayMate and it is actually one of the best panels out there. But the OPPO Reno5 Pro+ is not joking with its 90 Hz AMOLED display, and neither the AMOLED panel of the Vivo X60 Pro. Further, all the phones feature an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Hardware/Software
If you want the most powerful smartphone, you must go for Xiaomi Mi 11. It is the first and at this moment the only phone fueled by the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform: the latest and most powerful SoC by Qualcomm. The phone also offers up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 3.1 native storage. But the Vivo X60 Pro is still a very nice flagship thanks to its Exynos 1050 chipset built at 5 nm, and it offers the same memory configuration. With the OPPO Reno 5 Pro+, you get an older Snapdragon 865 chipset, but it is still flagship-class.
Camera
Just do not choose the Xiaomi Mi 11 if you need the most advanced camera phone. Due to the lack of a telephoto sensor and a periscope sensor, it does not support optical zoom. You can get the optical zoom with the Oppo Reno5 Pro+ and Vivo X60 Pro. The latter has the best zoom capabilities and Carl Zeiss lenses, but the former has a better main camera, at least on the paper: a 50 MP Sony IMX766 sensor. Overall, the Vivo X60 Pro looks slightly more advanced as a camera phone, thanks to great secondary sensors.
Battery
Xiaomi Mi 11 has the biggest battery, but it does not necessarily mean it has a longer battery life in every scenario. Given its higher display resolution, it has a shorter battery life in some situations. The Oppo Reno5 Pro+ has a good 4500 mAh battery, but you should note that the 7 nm Snapdragon 865 chipset is less efficient. Xiaomi Mi 11 is the only one to feature wireless charging, but the Oppo Reno5 Pro+ has the fastest charging tech with a 65W power.
Price
The prices of Xiaomi Mi 11 start from €504/$611 just like the Oppo Reno5 Pro+, while Vivo X60 Pro starts from €565/$685. There is not a definitive winner of this comparison: the Oppo Reno5 Pro+ has the best design and great cameras, Vivo X60 Pro is the greatest camera phone and it boasts a 5 nm chipset, Xiaomi Mi 11 has the best display and hardware but it is inferior as a camera phone. Which one would you go for?
Qualcomm‘s latest Snapdragon 888 has already foud its way into the Mi 11 flagship but more SD888-powered smartphones are expected to make their entry next year. Apart from the Mi 11 which will goon sale in January, other models that will feature Qualcomm’s latest flagship SoC includes the Realme Race, Samsung Galaxy S21, OPPO Find X3, OnePlus 9, and others.
While we still await the proliferation of the new Qualcomm flagship SoC, a rumour has emerged concerning the Snapdragon 888 Plus. According to prolific tipster Digital Chat Station, Qualcomm will release the Snapdragon 888+ in the second half of next year. He also disclosed reason why Qualcomm locked the GPU frequency of the chipset at 840MHz. This he says is to prevent OEMs from secretly overclocking the chip on their devices.
As the latest product of the Snapdragon 8 series, Snapdragon 888 integrates Qualcomm’s third-generation 5G modem and radiofrequency system-Snapdragon X60. The SD X60 modem supports all major global millimeter wave and Sub-6GHz frequency bands, as well as 5G carrier aggregation, global multi-SIM card functions, Independent (SA) and non-independent (NSA) networking modes and dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS).
The sixth-generation Qualcomm AI engine integrated on the Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform includes a newly designed Qualcomm Hexagon processor, with a performance of 26 trillion operations per second (26 TOPS). In terms of games, the third-generation Snapdragon Elite Gaming is integrated, and Qualcomm claims that it has brought the most significant performance improvement ever made by Qualcomm Adreno GPU.
In terms of camera performance, the Spectra ISP of Snapdragon 888 supports faster billion-pixel-level processing speeds. Users can process 2.7 billion pixels per second to take photos and videos, that is, 120 frames per second, and each frame is 12 million Pixels. The processing speed is up to 35% higher than the previous generation platform.
The Snapdragon 888 chip configuration includes ARM’s latest Cortex X1 core clocked at 2.84GHz and three Cortex A78 clocked at 2.4GHz as well as four 1.8GHz-clocked Cortex A55 cores. It integrates the Adreno 660 GPU and supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
Indian tech and fast-rising startup, Smartron has just launched its Tbike Flex, an e-bike and cargo delivery platform for medium-range deliveries and connectivity. It is ‘powered by tronX’ and has several impressive features that will endear it to logistics, food delivery, and e-commerce companies. It offers many customized fleet and rider management features with seamless integration into the existing IT systems which will facilitate real-time decision making for greater effectiveness of businesses, according to a statement by the company.
The Tbike Flex is a mix between a cargo bike with futuristic electric, AI, and the company’s niche IoT technologies. Its tailor-made specs interface excellently into a bike capable of carrying medium loads up to 40kg in a 120km radius around the city, coupled with the sublime versatility in moving even in dense traffic and minimal parking footprint.
The cargo-carrying container is designed to be flexible and can be adjusted to fit the operator’s requirement.
The Tbike Flex has a top speed of 25kmph and has a range up to 120 km per charge. City regulations currently do not require rider license and vehicle registration, making it accessible to more persons.
It has high-density swappable battery packs with a lifecycle in the region of 150,000 km.
Data security and fidelity are achieved through the tronX platform, while the overall design makes it well suited for long intra-city rides, greatly reducing both transportation and maintenance costs while also significantly reducing the carbon footprint.
The Smartron tbike flex sells from Rs. 40,000 (~$548) and is currently undergoing pilot testing in India and Mexico, as well as a few other countries in Latin America. Service and after-sales service are already slated to be available across various cities in India through Smartron’s tcare platform.
According to Mahesh Lingareddy, Smartron’s Founder, and Chairman, the Tbike Flex is an ideal cargo delivery platform that is set to provide quick and timely delivery of goods, in a smart and intelligent system. The features of Tbike Flex allow it to gain real-time insights on the operations of fleets seamlessly.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
